


It's my Life

by Purple_ducky00



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Office, Disapproving Family, F/M, Happy Ending, Headaches & Migraines, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, No Smut, Obadiah Is a Creep, Rape/Non-con Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-08-26 02:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 37
Words: 19,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16672735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purple_ducky00/pseuds/Purple_ducky00
Summary: What is going in here?” Mr. Edwards opens the door with a bang.“I’m working?” Replies the man at the desk. “I don’t think it’s really proper etiquette to barge into the CEO’s office, unannounced, when the door is closed.”“Stark, don’t lie to me. What was with those- those gestures a moment ago?”“What ‘gestures’?” Stark asks innocently, using his fingers to show quotations.Mr. Edwards shifts from foot to foot, looking embarrassed. “Just… continue your work…” He leaves the office rather quickly and shuts the door.“I told you there’s a camera,” Stark says.“Well, you handled that perfectly,” a laughing voice comes from under the desk.“You feeling better?”“Yea, I’m gonna go back to work now.”Stark scoots back, letting a woman in her 20’s emerge from the desk…Wait! Wait! Wait! Before you get the wrong idea, let me take you back to the beginning.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Hope's just a girl who's life got turned upside down. And she must fight tooth and nail to get back on top.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNING! Rape in this chapter!

What is going in here?” Mr. Edwards opens the door with a bang.

“I’m working?” Replies the man at the desk. “I don’t think it’s really proper etiquette to barge into the CEO’s office, unannounced, when the door is closed.”

“Stark, don’t lie to me. What was with those- those gestures a moment ago?”

“What ‘gestures’?” Stark asks innocently, using his fingers to show quotations.

Mr. Edwards shifts from foot to foot, looking embarrassed. “Just… continue your work…” He leaves the office rather quickly and shuts the door.

“I told you there’s a camera,” Stark says.

“Well, you handled that perfectly,” a laughing voice comes from under the desk.

“You feeling better?”

“Yea, I’m gonna go back to work now.”

Stark scoots back, letting a woman in her 20’s emerge from the desk…

Wait! Wait! Wait! Before you get the wrong idea, let me take you back to the beginning.  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
The story starts 6 years ago, at the Dorsett High public school. You see a girl of 16 with a group of friends. Ah yes, a popular girl. Little do you know, her life would change dramatically before this day ends. Let’s go meet her.

The girl’s name is Hope Sanford. Raised in a Christian family, she is definitely the most modestly dressed female in the crowd. Her favorite school subject is Science - most would think it’s because of her teacher – ( I will get back to him later, though) and her least favorite is Social Studies. This Hope looks older than her 16 years, and this has proved helpful for sneaking around. Her body has filled out, and she is tall and strong, playing on the school’s co-ed soccer and female football teams.

Now, recess is over and she now goes to her science class. It’s time to meet the teacher. This teacher is young, only started teaching last year, and graduated summa cum laude from MIT. Obviously, he is extremely smart. Meet Antonio Carbonell. Mr. Carbonell, at the age of 23, was once asked why he started teaching after such an education. His brown eyes lit up as he answered, “Well, I wouldn’t have gotten there without my teachers, and I would like to do the same for other kids. I grew up with people telling me their expectations of me, and now I’d just like to live my own life.” Of course, this set the faculty on edge, and they watched him closely for the next few semesters. He rarely ever lost his temper, was kind but firm with the kids, rarely ever drank, and seemed clean through and through.

Mr. Carbonell was a favorite of many, many kids for different reasons. First of all, the man was incredibly attractive. Dark brown hair, always styled, coffee colored eyes, tanned skin, and a nice smile, it was easy to see how many students immediately fell in love with him. Secondly, he made learning fun and interesting with his way of teaching- hands on and experimental. (Off the record, there may have been a few minor explosions in that classroom.) He has a robot, which he elegantly named DUM-E, that is a big part of his class. The third reason kids love him (this is Hope’s reason) is that his science class isn’t about evolution or geology- it’s on machines and engineering. Most kids hate science because of the boringness of it all, but engineering uses physics and math- making you use your brain for it. Although kids love him, he’s not a very open fellow. No one knows much about him other than what I’ve just mentioned.

Now, after class (and the end of school), Hope stays to ask Mr. Carbonell a question about the lesson. After a few minutes, she leaves. Outside she meets a group of boys from her crowd.

“Hey Hope,” Blake, the leader, calls out. “We have something to show you.”

She walks over, smiling at them. “What?”

“Come with us,” he nods towards the gym.

“Hey Hope, how was Mr. Carbonell?” Another kid asks, smirking.

“Huh? What do you mean? He was… just the same as every day.”

“Every day, Hope? I’m telling Peter!” (If you can context, Peter is her boyfriend.)  
“He won’t be happy to know that you an…”

“Shut up.” Hope snaps. “You know nothing’s going on like that. I’m merely asking him for help because I can’t always pay attention because of migraines.”

“Whatever. It’s in the gym.” They lead her to the gym.

“Hey where are Alex and Cara?” These were her two best friends.

“Uhh I don’t know,” Blake replies. “C’mon.”

When they get to the gym, the boys attack her, ripping her shirt off and forcing her to the ground. “Guys? What the heck? Stop! What are you doing? Stop!”

They continue raping her for what seems like hours to her.


	2. Chapter 2

Antonio Carbonell sighs and packs up his work to take home. He had a headache today, and some kids were particularly annoying today. He was tired of girls sighing over him- he had already seen his name paired with several girls in different notebooks. It was- he wasn’t going to think about it. And today, Hope Sanford had had a migraine. He knew she got them a lot- her parents sent in a note to warn him. Anyways, when she gets a migraine, she stays late to catch up on her lesson. He understood where she was coming from, but today he was just so exhausted, he told her he would help her tomorrow. He walks out to his car when he hears a scream from the gym. Well, they have baseball bats in there if he needs something. He runs into the gym, only to see Hope…

“What is going on here?” He yells. “Get away from her!” The boys jump, startled, and move away quickly.

Averting his eyes, he takes his jacket off and puts it overtop of Hope. The boys turn to sneak out. “No.” He orders. “Go sit in the bleachers.”

The boys had never heard Mr. Carbonell this angry. Terrified, they obeyed him. He pulls out his phone and dials 911.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“I’m calling to report a rape. I need an ambulance and a police car. The attackers are still here.”

“Could I have your address, sir?”

“Dorsett High School- 763 Reighton St. We are in the gym.”

“Please stand outside so that the responders will know where you are. Please stay on the phone.”

“No problem, ma’am. You boys! Come with me!” The boys follow him outside.

Within a matter of 5 minutes, an ambulance and police car had arrived on the scene. He hands the boys over to the police and leads the EMTs into the gym.   
“She’s right there. I don’t really know what they did…”

Mr. Carbonell looks in his phone, knowing he has at least one of her parents’ numbers. Hitching a ride in the ambulance, he calls the Mr. Sanford first. When he doesn’t answer, he calls Mrs. Sanford.

“Hello?” She sounds annoyed.

“Mrs. Sanford? This is Hope’s teacher Antonio Carbonell. I’m calling to tell you that she is being taken to the Jefferson hospital on Spring St.”

“Oh my gosh! Why?”

“She was” Gosh. It’s so hard to say! “She was… attacked by a few boys in the gym.”

“What? Ok tha- thank you. I’ll be on my way over.”  
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
Hope is rushed to the ER, and Mr. Carbonell waits for the Sanfords to show up. His eyes water, and he puts his head in his hands. No one should have to deal with this. This should never be a thing.

“Hello, I’m looking for where Hope Sanford would be.” “I’m her father.”

Mr. Carbonell looks up. Across the room is the family called the Sanfords. Mr. Andrew and Mrs. Claudia Sanford, with little Abby in tow. Why would they bring her? He gets up, walks over, “Hello. She’s that room over there.” He nods to a door.

“And you are?”

“Carbonell. Her teacher, who informed your wife about her.”

Andrew Sanford eyes him suspiciously. “Ok. Well. Thank you.” He turns to the nurse at the station. “Can we go in?”

“The doctor will be out in a minute. He will then tell you what you can and can’t do. Please take a seat.”

Surely enough, a doctor came out not a minute later. “Mr. and Mrs. Sanford?”

They get up.

“Come in with me. There’s a few things about your daughter. I’d advise you to leave the child with one of our nurses.” The doctor also eyes Carbonell suspiciously.

“Will she be ok?” Carbonell asks quietly.

“Yes. I believe so.” Dr. Yinsen affirms.

“Good. Then I- I’ll leave you to it.” He musters up a smile and walks out.

“Little too caring for a teacher, eh?” Andrew looks after him.

“Andrew, at least he let us know…”


	3. Chapter 3

Hope had to stay in the hospital for about two weeks before she was cleared. There was… a slight complication.

“So. I’m pregnant?” She had asked, horrified.

“I believe so. But after doing a sonogram, the fetus looks to be several weeks old. Have you been having sex before this?” The doctor asked. Her parents stared at her with a weird look.

“No I- well, actually… Mom, Dad, remember on Halloween I went to Cara’s? Well she and I had fake ID’s and snuck into a club… She had… dared me that I couldn’t. That I- Does the doctor have to be in this conversation?”

“No I guess not.” Andrew looks at the doctor, who turns and leaves the room.

“So she had dared me that I couldn’t pick up a guy cause I was too awkward, and I thought I could back away from a challenge soo… I uhh… hooked up with a guy at a Halloween party. And I felt guilty after that- I know I wasn’t supposed to…”

“So that ‘migraine’ you had- was that a hangover?”

Hope winces. “A bit of both.”

“Well you’re grounded until you are old enough to think about your choices before you make them.” Andrew looks at her angrily.

“Dad. Believe me. I learned my lesson.” Hope gestures to her surroundings.

“Still…”

“Andrew, honey, she understands. Just let her rest.” Claudia pleads.

“Ok. But I still am upset.”

“I know, Dad. I’m sorry


	4. Chapter 4

Hope spends two weeks in the hospital. Today is her first day back at school. It’s… not the best. People have come up to her being fakely nice to try to get more information, she was taunted and catcalled by several boys, and Peter, her boyfriend of a week and a half, broke up with her because he “can’t do it anymore.”  
It hurt but she understood- he didn’t want damaged goods. So she had let him go easily and rolled her eyes. She had also had a migraine during lunch break. Science class is next- hopefully this could be a highlight. She walks in and takes her normal seat. A lady of about 45 walks in and calls class together.

Hope must’ve looked confused because Sheldon, the boy beside her, poked her and whispered “Carbonell got fired right after your” and wiggling his eyebrows “accident.”

She nods. “What’s her name?”

“Ms. Sanford.” Hope looks up, startled. “Now, I don’t know what Carbonell let you do in his classroom, but I will not tolerate whispering. Now please tell the class what you were saying.”

“Ma’am, I asked what your name was.”

“It’s Ms. Greely, which you would know if you had attended school these past few weeks. Now, here is a pile of your papers left here by Carbonell. Apparently he was helping you with something after school.” She smirks and the most of the class snickers. Well, at least her lesson is interesting.

By the end of the day, Hope learns that the boys who had attacked her were expelled, and their girlfriends were not happy with her, which, in her opinion, was messed up. The boys had cheated on them, and committed a crime! The girls should really be mad at their boyfriends.   
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
“So, honey, how was school today?”

“Terrible. I couldn’t have a moment of peace. Why can’t they leave me alone?”

  
Life went on like this for the rest of her school years. She had begged to be transferred to a different school, but her dad had adamantly refused. “It’s a good school!” He had said. “One of the best- I graduated from here. Just grow some thick skin, and you’ll be fine.” So she stopped trying.

After nine months, she welcomed a chubby baby girl to the world. Her parents wanted to name her Patience, but Hope had refused. “This may be my only daughter. I’m going to name her something I like.” Hence, the name Avery Eve Sanford.

But something changed after baby Avery was born. Her grandfather took one look at her and flattened his lips. After that, life became much worse for Hope. 


	5. Chapter 5

Six years later, Hope started her job at Stark Industries. Now, this was not her first job, but it was the first one she had wanted.

“So this will be your workplace,” said Jan, her boss. “I’ll have your section’s supervisor help you until you feel like you are ready to work on your own. Let me get him.”

Jan brings over a young man about Hope’s age. He grins in recognition when he sees her. “Hope Sanford. Well it has been a while.”

“You two know each other?” Jan looks between the two of them.

“I went to high school with him. Hello Sheldon.” Hope replies.

“Great!” Jan claps her hands. “Ok, Sheldon, can you take it from here?”

“Sure. Sooo you know this is the Accounting part. We do all the numbers and stuff. There’s R&D, HR- thank God you don’t work there,” He rattles off a few more names. “So what you’re gonna be doing here is little odd jobs until we get you accustomed to the workings of the company…”

Hope gains a few friends from her new job, including a wisp of a girl named Mia. They spend a lot of time together and quickly become close friends.   
++++++++++++++++++++  
A few months later  
“Did you hear about Ms. Potts?” Gina sticks her head in. She is the gossip queen of the Accounts department.

Hope- in the midst of a raging migraine- does her best to smile at her and say, “No I didn’t.”

“She quit! Apparently Mr. Stark frazzled her a bit too much with his unreasonable requests! I wonder if he’s becoming like Mr. Stane. Let me tell you, Mr. Stark is incredibly hot, but I’d hate to be his…”

“Ahem.” Jan is standing in front of Gina, arms crossed, looking a little upset.

Gina has the grace to look embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Ms. Van Dyne. I’ll just…” She points to her desk and leaves.

“I’m sorry. Are you ok?” Jan asks Hope.

“Yea, ‘m fine. Just a migraine. What’s up?” She and Jan got along well; they just didn’t really have anything other than a work relationship.

“Well I actually came over to talk to you about Ms. Potts quitting. Turns out Mr. Stark needs a new personal assistant. The board decided that we choose two workers from each department and have Mr. Stark interview them all. Now, he is also the head of R&D as he is the CEO. I know you always talk about that kind of stuff so I thought you might be a good choice. But if his reputation is something you’d rather not deal with…”

“Can I ask you a question? You seem to know him well. What do you think?”

Jan laughs. “Well, I’d be a little biased. I’ve known him my whole life. I’d tell you that all of it is crap, but that’s because I know him. It’s your decision.”

Hope grins. “Well then, I will take the interview, but can I still have a choice if he decides on me?”

“Sure! It’s all up to you!”

“Great! Thanks!”


	6. Chapter 6

The day comes when she is going to be interviewed by Tony Stark for the personal assistant job. As Sheldon was her supervisor, he accompanies her to Jan’s office, where Mr. Stark had already interviewed James, the other accounting worker in line for the job.

Jan opens the door, saying, “You can come in.”

Hope steps in the door, and her jaw drops when she sees the man in the chair. He looks startled, too, but recovers quickly.

“Take a seat.” Hope does so mechanically. “So Ms. Sanford, Jan tells me that you are interested in this job?”

Hope opens her mouth, and is shocked by what comes out. “I already had my life screwed over by you once, it’s not gonna happen again!” She gasps and clasps her hands over her mouth. “I’m sorry, that was…” She whispers.

“So that did happen? You two DID…” Sheldon asks, motioning between the two of them.

Stark glares at him, but calmly asks him to leave or to be quiet. “Ms. Sanford, I’m not sure I understand…”

“They blamed me for everything!” She says angrily. “You could have helped clear up any doubt, but no! You had to just disappear!”

“What are y..”

“Can I butt in?” Jan asks. “What is going on here?”

“I got pregnant. And not from those boys. And people thought it was yours- especially after you up and left in a hurry. And then, I had a fantastic last year and a half of school.”

“I’m sorry. They fired me and told me to never come back again. Your father told me…”

“My father? He did _what_?”

“That if I showed up again, he was going to have me arrested and start a long case against me. So I left- for two reasons. First, I hadn’t done anything wrong so there was no reason, I’d have even _imagined_ you wanted me there. Second, they were gonna find out my real name, and my dad would have killed me if even such a rumor besmirched his name. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize…”

“It’s ok. I was his daughter. He should have trusted me to tell the truth.”

“Ahem.” This came from Sheldon. “Not to interrupt or imply that you are lying, but how do you explain this?” There is picture of Avery on his phone- a picture off of Abby’s instagram.

Jan takes it and goes, “Holy crap. Tony. She looks like you. If I didn’t know you, I’d believe it. It’s uncanny.”

His eyes widen at the picture. “Wow. Yea. She looks like Rebecca.” He looks at Hope. “She’s beautiful. What’s her name?”

“Avery.”

“Well, Ms. Sanford, could you do me the pleasure of having lunch with me? I feel like we have some catching up to do.”

“I guess?”

“Good. My office is..”

“I’ll take her there,” Jan interrupts.

“Great! See you then! You are all dismissed.” He waves his hand.

“So what? You’re gonna go and let him screw you again?” Sheldon asks Hope.

“First of all, he never ‘screwed’ me. Second of all, I’m having lunch, and I am pretty sure I can take care of myself.”

“Yea. We know you can.” He says suggestively. “Why do you think your dad hates you?”

“You know what? You have no right to get into my family life. So if you want to talk about it, don’t try it with me. I will end up breaking your nose.” Hope turns and starts working again. Little did she know that Gina had been listening the whole time.

“Sheldon? Can you come here a second? I have a question about this customer.” She calls loudly.

He smirks at Hope, who meets his stare readily. “One minute Gina! I’ll be right there!” He then whispers, “Have fun working here.” Great. High school all over again. 


	7. Chapter 7

At lunch, Jan stops past Hope’s desk. “You ready?”

She smiles -a fake smile, but still, a smile. “Sure. Lead the way.” She tries ignore all the eyes following her.

Jan leads Hope to the other side of the building to a huge office. She knocks. “Tony. We’re here.”

The door opens. Mr. Stark walks a man out of the door, saying. “Ok Edwards. We will talk about it again on Thursday. Have a great day.” He turns to them. “Thank you Jan. You are amazing. I didn’t want to deal with that right now.”

“What’d Edwards want this time?”

“Threatened about Pep. If she’s gonna press charges.”

They walk into his office. “Holy crap, it’s huge.” Hope thinks.

Mr. Starks sees her eyes widen, and grins at her. “Big, huh?”

“Yeaa… huge.”

He motions to the table. “Take a seat. I took the liberty of ordering a pizza. Is that ok?”

“Pizza’s great. Thank you.” Hope assures him.

Jan wrinkles her nose. “Ew. I’ll leave you to it then.” She walks out.

“So can I ask you a question? What happened after I left?” Mr. Stark asks.

“They found out I was pregnant- a few weeks pregnant. So obviously, it couldn’t have been from the boys. And I was known for being the ‘good girl’ of the so-called ‘cool group’ so no one would’ve expected it. It came as a shock to everyone but me and one other person- my friend Cara. I’ll explain why later. But you know, those days I had migraines and stayed late… people got suspicious. I was being teased about it before the…” She gestures helplessly with her hands, “but no one really took it seriously. Then I was pregnant – my best friends told the whole school. My dad was one of the ones who was already suspicious, which was why he went to you right away. Then she was born, and I almost cried. She was the cutest baby I had ever seen, but she looked like you. I have no idea how, but she did. After that, my dad refused to acknowledge me as his daughter. He believed I’d lied to him to cover for you. He was going to sue, but he could find no records on an Antonio Carbonell. Turns out, he should have looked up Stark.” She grimaces. “Anyways, so I worked my way through community college and provided for my daughter. My dad was more than willing to help with her- he loved her, but I no longer mattered. I was just the discarded oyster that had the pearl. Now I’m here- after 5 years of hard work and no play. What did you do after leaving?”

He smiles self-deprecatingly. “I did the thing I told myself I’d never do. I went home, sucked it up to my dad, and got a job here. When he died, I was promoted to CEO. His old business partner and my godfather, Mr. Stane, wasn’t very happy. But seeing he was caught with sexual assault cases, what could he do. He claims that I made them up and paid workers to accuse him, but I was one of the only ones who knew the real him.” His eyes get sad. “So how are the migraines going for you? Are you still getting the bad ones?”

“They don’t happen as often, but they’re just as bad or worse. I’m surprised you remembered.”

“Well, I had a sister, who died at the age of 14. She had really bad ones. My dad used to let her sleep under his desk.” He nods towards his desk. “You can’t see a thing under there.”

They eat in silence for a little while, then Mr. Stark speaks up. “So about the PA job. Does it sound like something you’d try, or did I scare you away already?”

“Mr. Stark. I will be honest with you. I would love to do this- as long as Ms. Potts’ accusations are untrue. You know what happened to me. I’d rather not have to deal with anything like it again. If there’s any way I can try it, but be able to back down if I am uncomfortable…”

“Yes. Yes. I was going to get to that. First of all, call me Tony unless we are in a board meeting and/or with workers who are not Jan. We will be spending a lot of time in here or my laboratory- I’ve become a recluse. I have here a contract, stating all that you would need to know concerning this position. It may be easier to read this instead of having me explain it.”

The document stated that anything heard in meeting or about the company was secret, and the employee’s signature was needed for compliance. All the usual blah blah blah, which Hope knew. But at the end, there was an excerpt saying that if she were to back down from this position on my own, SI would find her a new place to work. Apparently, this thing is a touchy subject.

Hope looks up at him. “I agree to all this. I’ll take the position.”

“Before you sign, I want to warn you of my so-called ‘quirks’. I tend to get distracted in my work, and don’t always think about how I phrase a question. So if I ever ask you for something, please know that I’m not trying to come onto you, or innuendo anything. It’s just…”

Hope smiles and interrupts. “Listen. I was your student in school. I remember.”

He sighs. “That’s right. Ok, well sign, and you are promoted.”

“I have one more question. Do you still have DUM-E?” Hope asks as she signs her name.

His face brightens. “Yea! I keep him in my lab here- I practically live here.”

“Hmm… sounds like you’re a little addicted… a workaholic?” 


	8. Chapter 8

Hope gets home to her daughter opening the door as she did every day. “Mommy!! You’re home!”

“Avery!!” Hope smiles. This never got old.

“I learned something new at school today!! It’s…”

“Ahem.” Andrew Sanford clears his throat. “Baby girl, give your mother a minute to freshen up.”

“Hey Dad. You’re home. How was work?” Hope asks.

“Same as usual.” Came the clipped reply.

She opens her mouth to reply, but he cuts her off. “Anyways, dinner is ready, and you don’t want to keep your mother waiting.”

She shakes her head. “Yea sure. Just let me hang up my jacket.”

At dinner, Avery regales her of the new things she learned, and the fun activities she did at school. Hope listened with rapt attention. When she was finished, Hope straightens up. “I also have news. I got promoted today.”

“That’s awesome, sweetie!” Claudia replies. “What do you do now?”

“Well, I still do some of my own work that I did before, but I’m now the personal assistant to the CEO.”

“So you’re basically a slave to the CEO, and he’ll make you do whatever he wants. Sounds like a demotion to me.” Andrew comments.

“The CEO? You mean, Tony Stark?” Abby asks.

“Yea. He seems nice.” Hope replies.

“Hope. I’d be careful. His top advisor, Stane, got arrested a couple of years ago due to sexual assault charges, and rumor has it that Stark had a part in it.”

“Or maybe she knows exactly what she’s getting into.” Andrew narrows his eyes.

“Ok. First of all, I know about Stane. Second of all, unless Stark is a truly talented actor and has my boss completely fooled. You met Jan, right, Abby? He’s actually a nice guy. And I can quit my position as PA and still have a job at SI if I want to. So if I’m uncomfortable…” Hope glares at Andrew.

“It’s your life.” He says, almost snidely.

Hope shakes her head and finishes her meal in silence. Washing dishes with Abby after supper, she sighs. “I don’t even know why I try.”

“I’m sorry Hope. I didn’t realize what it would start. I just want you to be careful. I know you need the money.”

“But I’m not going to let him harass me! I think I know how to deal with it!”


	9. Chapter 9

Several months have gone past, and Hope loves her job. Being that Mr. Stark spends much of his time in R&D, she was able to see some of his new projects and offer her insight. According to him, she had assisted many a new upgrade on SI goods. He was very interesting to talk to, and they got to know each other better. There were several time he mentioned his sister. She wondered about that. 

“Not that I ever paid much mind to the tabloids, but I feel like I’d have remembered hearing about a sister. How did they keep her out of the media’s grasp?”

“Well… she didn’t get out much, and she was always sick. And she had an older brother with ‘genius’ intellect, who didn’t always make the best decisions. The media had a field day with me since I was 7 or 8. Back then I was cute and not afraid of the paps. Then, I was the next screw-up. My dad hated me for it…”

“Well, the media made it sound like he was trying, but you weren’t. What’s the truth here?”

“Now I feel like I’m the one being interviewed.” He grins. “Dad was… tickled pink when I was picking up stuff so quickly at a young age, but then… I don’t know if I started to take the spotlight from him or what. All of a sudden, he started drinking all the time, and managed to find fault with everything I did. So if course, I worked harder to gain his approval, but he just got more and more surly, so I started to not care. Which led to many, umm, untasteful stories and pictures in tabloids. Of course, dear old Dad wasn’t very happy with that either. And he expected me to take over this company when he died, so what did I do? I left and became a teacher.”

“Hmm. And we know how that turned out. I’m sorry- I shouldn’t have stayed late after school. I never dreamed it would have come to that.”

“So your daughter. Do you know who the father is?”

“No – well- sort of. Because I was in the ‘popular’ group, the kids made me prove my worth to them or whatever. Peer pressure and all that. Well, my friend Cara dared me to sneak into an adult party and do whatever she told me to. She, of course, went along with me. So after getting in, drinking a beer, and doing shots, she still thought it wasn’t enough. So she challenged me to have sex with someone. I almost bailed because of my beliefs. But, I was drunk and determined to prove myself so I flirted with a guy and we did it at the party in one of the rooms.”

“And you don’t know his name?”

“No it was a Halloween party. That’s how I got in. I was dressed as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean, but slightly more feminine. The guy was dressed as Obi-Wan from the Star Wars prequels. Gave him a lot of ribbing for that.” Hope looks up to see Stark inhale sharply. 

“Where was this party?” He asks hurriedly. 

“At Sarah’s on Fleemont St.”

“I was there… dressed as Obi-Wan…” He states slowly. “And there was a certain Jack Sparrow…”

“You’re sure it was the same year?”

“The last year I taught. I usually didn’t go out, but my friend Rhodey just got off deployment and wanted to go. He then convinced me to go ‘get some’. I am so sorry! I never would’ve if I’d known you were 16. Ugh! I am so disgusting!” 

“Its ok. Over and done. Besides, it was a 21 & over party. I should never have been in there, you would’ve had no idea. But… let’s backtrack. You’re Avery’s father? No wonder…”

“Yea. That makes me a crappy father. I can pay you back in child support… let me know how much. And I would love to meet her, but if you think it’ll be better for her if I never was around, that’s fine, too.”

“No. She deserves to know the truth. The problem is telling my dad, though. I have no idea how to tell him.”

“Well, how about I take you and Avery out for supper? Do you think you could explain for that?”

“Yea I could. My dad hated it when I dated after Avi was born. He would always say something like ‘why don’t you find that guy from the club? You gave yourself to him…’ Blah blah blah.”

“Well let me know when it works for you. This Thursday night? I don’t have anything scheduled for then, do I? Stark asks.

Hope smiles. “No, Mr. Stark, you do not. Coincidentally, neither do I. I can text you my address and stuff later. Right now, you have a meeting with a Ms. Hansen from AIM Industries. I’ll go see if she’s arrived.”

After letting Ms. Hansen in, she shut the door to Stark exclaiming. “Maya! It’s good to see you!”


	10. Chapter 10

As she leaves for work on Thursday, Hope tells Claudia. “Mom, Avery and I won’t be here for supper.”

“Why? Where are you going?” Andrew asks.

“We got invited out to dinner.” Hope replies.

“Where?”

“To the Four Seasons.”

“Hope. You realize you still have stuff to pay for, and we take care of Avery most of the time. Is it really smart to waste money on restaurants?”

“Dad. I am taking care of my expenses. I know what I can and cannot afford. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get to work.”

She walks into work, still in a bad mood. Mr. Stark doesn’t need her right away, so she sits at her desk and starts answering emails.

“Hope. It’s good to see you again.” Sheldon is leaning over her desk, grinning at her.

Trying to sound as polite as possible, she asks. “Hello Sheldon. What do you want?”

“Just came in to say hi. Cuz you’re like, never here. Always holed up with Stark.”

Rolling her eyes, Hope tells him. “Look, I don’t know what your problem is, nor do I care. I have a raging migraine, and I really do not feel like dealing with any crap so please, if you have no reason for talking to me, leave. Thank you.” She turns back to her computer, but the pain in her head rises so quickly that her vision goes black.

“Ok. Fine.” Sheldon huffs. “Good to know I’m crap.”

After Sheldon leaves, Hope lays her head down on the desk, trying to relieve herself from the pain. Jan walks in, chattering about something, then stops when she sees Hope’s state. “Oh my gosh! I am _soo_ sorry! I didn’t realize… Let me know when you’re ok.”

“Hope!” Stark whispers through her phone. “Hope! You there?”

She lifts her head to press the button and reply in a gravelly voice, “Yes.”

“Migraine?”

“Uh huh.”

“Come up here. No one will bother you. Not even me- I’ll be in R&D until 10.”

“If you don’t mind. I’ll be up in a few minutes.”

“No problem at all. I’ll call Jan, and let her know.”

Hope shuts her screen off, gets her purse, and walks out of her office. All eyes around her turn to her. Jan is on the phone. “You better not! Didn’t you call? Oh. _Oh! Why didn’t you tell me that!?_! Ok. That’s fine.” She looks up. “Hey Hope. You good?”

“I will be.” She tries to smile. Walking out, she rides the elevator up to Stark’s floor. She knocks on the door and walks in. “Good morning.” She says wryly.

“Good morning.” Stark’s hushed voice comes from his desk. “You are welcome to sit or lie down anywhere. Even under the desk if you want to. I’m leaving as soon as you’re comfortable.”

“That may be never, then.” Hope jokes.

He chuckles. “Yea. Just let me know.”

She curls up on a chair, and puts her head on the top of the back. “I think I’m fine here. You can go.” She waves him away.

“Aye aye.” He walks out, locking the door behind him. 


	11. Chapter 11

A half hour later, Hope’s migraine clears, and she texts Stark, asking what he wants done.

 _There are some files sitting out on my desk. Can you put them back in the cabinet? I will be back in about 5 minutes_. He texts back.

Hope starts putting the files away when the door unlocks and someone comes in. She goes back to Stark’s desk to grab the last three files and jumps in surprise when she sees Mr. Edwards sitting on the couch. “Oh, hello! I didn’t see you there!” She says.

“Who are you?” He asks suspiciously. “And what are you doing in the company files?”

“I am Hope Sanford, Mr. Stark’s PA. He asked me to put these files away in his cabinet. He should be up in a few minutes. Please excuse me for a minute.” She files the folders and locks the cabinet.

“Ms. Sanford, may I ask you a few questions?” Mr. Edwards asks her when she gets back to Stark’s desk.

“Sure.”

“How do you like working as Mr. Stark’s assistant? Does he, say, make any odd requests?”

“Well, I DO enjoy the job, especially when we are in R&D. And for the odd requests, he does ask me to sometimes help him on a project -for example, to hold a piece of machinery in place while he’s fixing it or attaching an extension, but nothing I can’t handle.”

“Does he ever try to make any sexual advances?”

“No.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“Ok well tha-”

“Hope. I’m back.” Stark walks in the door. “Oh, hello, Edwards. How are you?”

“Good. I was just talking to this ‘Hope’.” Edwards turns to her. Behind him, Hope could see Stark raise an eyebrow as if saying “hmmm… interesting…”

“Well, Edwards, she is very intellectual. I hope your conversation was productive. If you have nothing important to talk about, no offense, I have a meeting I am scheduled to be at in 10 minutes, and we must drive there. Hope, you ready?”

“As always, Mr. Stark.” She says humorously. He laughs and opens the door.

“I will see you later, Edwards.” He says before shutting the door. “So how was your conversation?”

“I’m an _intellectual_ now?” Hope grins. “Never heard that one before.”

They didn’t notice the raised eyebrows they get from the people they walk past. He opens the door for her. “After you, Ms. Sanford.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

When they left, Edith, one of the receptionists, turns to her fellow employee, and says, “Yea, nothing fishy there.”


	12. Chapter 12

Hope gets home, tells Avery to go get dressed, and gets in the shower. When she’s out and dressed, she sits Avery down in her room. “Are you ready , honey?”

“Yes Momma. Where we going?”

“Out for dinner somewhere special. Remember, Grandpop took you out before with Grandmom and Aunt Abby?”

“Yea. It was fun.”

“Yes, well, Momma and you are going with one of Momma’s friends. Does that sound good?”

“Can I ha’ French fries?” Avery asks.

“I’m pretty sure you can.” Hope grins.   
++++++++++++++++  
Downstairs, Tony knocks on the door. Andrew Sanford answers, saying “Hello, how can I help you?”

“Hello, Mr. Sanford. I’m Tony. I’m picking Hope and Avery up for dinner.”

“You look familiar…” Andrew’s eyes narrow.

“Hey, Tony!” Hope comes to the door, smiling brightly. “You’re early. How are you?”

“Pretty well. You ready?” His eyes twinkle.

“Yup. Come on Avi. This is Tony. Tony, this is my daughter, Avery.”

“Hello.” Avery smiles tentatively. Hope looks up to see the exact smile on Tony’s face.

“Alright. Time to go?” Hope nods to the door. Tony recovers and walks out.

“Let’s go.” They get in Tony’s Audi R8 Spyder.

Abby looks out the window. “Is _Tony Stark_ taking them out for supper?”

“That was Tony Stark?” Andrew’s face darkens. “She’s going out with her boss?”

“Relax, Dad,” Abby says. “You have no idea what’s going on.”

“Well, if it’s what I think it is, I have to say I’m even more disappointed. What does she have with people who have authority over her? It’s sick, that’s what it is.”

“Well, you tried to rule her life, and she didn’t find that attractive.” Abby thinks.


	13. Chapter 13

“So, what would you like to have?” Tony asks. “I’m paying, so get whatever you want.”

“I can’t do that! It’s your money!” Hope half-whispers.

“Exactly. And I have a lot of it. Billionaire here. So get what you want. Do you drink?”

“No.”

“Good. I’m a recovering alcoholic so…”

“Yea, Jan told me. I’m proud of you.” Hope turns to Avery. “What do you want, honey? Chicken fingers and French fries?”

Avery claps her hands. “Yes! Yes!”

The waitress walks up. “Hello, I’m Sharon, and I’ll be serving you today. What would you like to drink?”

“I will take a water, and she’ll have a juice, please.” Hope answers.

“I also will take a water.” Tony smiles at Sharon.

“Great! I’ll give you a few minutes while I get your drinks.”

The night went on wonderfully. When he drops Hope off, Tony gives her a hug and says, “I hope we can do this again. She’s adorable.”

When she gets in the house, carrying a sleeping Avery, Andrew is waiting at the door. “Well, Hope, I must say I’m disappointed in you.”

“What else is new?”

“Going out with your boss? Do you want to lose your job? Even if you don’t pay attention to celebrity gossip, everyone knows how he gets around.”

“Dad. It wasn’t a date… he just wanted to treat me to dinner. I need to take Avi to bed. Goodnight.” Tears begin to form in her eyes. 


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter...

Later that night, when Andrew and Claudia are in bed, she asks him. “Don’t you think you’re being a little to harsh to Hope? She’s really trying.”

“No. I need to show her that what she did is not acceptable. She’s going to have to deal with the consequences of her actions for the rest of her life.”

“Yes dear, but haven’t you punished her enough?”

“Enough, dear. I don’t want to talk about her. Goodnight.”

Claudia falls asleep with a sad feeling in her heart. She loves her daughter dearly, but it really seemed like Andrew has basically disowned her. 


	15. Chapter 15

At work the next day, Gina corners Hope. “So I heard you went on a date with the boss last night.”

“What are you talking about?” Hope cocks her head to the left.

“Oh come on, don’t play innocent. Are you two” She lowers her voice “hooking up?”

“No, Gina, we are not ‘hooking up’” Hope gestures with her fingers.

“So why did you go out with him?”

“Why did I? Did I even go out with him?”

“Well you’re not denying it…”

“Well, you’re not denying that your husband is banging your nanny. Is that true?”

Gina huffs and walks away.

Jan sticks her head out of her office. “Hope, can you see me in my office?”

“Yea, just a minute. I need to finish updating this spreadsheet. Mr. Stark needs it for the board meeting.”

Ten minutes later, several pairs of eyes follow Hope’s path to Jan’s office.

“You think she’s getting fired?” Gina whispers.

“I don’t know…. Shh!” Sheldon hisses.

“Hope. Why didn’t you tell me?” Jan asks her.

“Tell you what?” Hope raises her eyebrow.

“That you are getting super-bad migraines again! Tony told me! He feels bad…”

“I’ve dealt with them all my life. He and you shouldn’t worry.” Hope assures her. “I can still do my work.”

“I know you can. How about we go out for lunch? My treat.”

“If you tell Mr. Stark. He might say he needs me.”

“Pfft. Tony’s afraid if me. He better let you come with me, or else.”

“Ok… I’ll let him know.” Hope grins. “I’ll see you then.”

When Hope reaches her desk, her phone is ringing. It’s Stark. “Hi, can I help you?”

“Ms. Anderson. Where were you? I’ve called like five times already. I’m thinking about firing you.” Tony laughs. “What’s the point of a PA if you can’t even get ahold of her?”

“Blame Jan. She called me into her office.”

“Sounds like it’s your fault. You know only the bad kids get called into the principal’s office.”

“Only if they get snitched on, you snitch.” Hope fires back.

“What did _I_ do?”

“You know. Now, do you need me?”

“Yes, I need you to come up here and take notes. I have a board meeting that I don’t want to go to. Can you just go for me? You know what you’re doing.”

“I’ll be up in a few minutes.” Hope rolls her eyes. 


	16. Chapter 16

When she gets up to his office, Stark asks her again. “So what did I do?”

“You told her about my migraines. Now she wants me to slow down.”

“You probably should.”

Hope sends him a withered glare. “You know that I’m not gonna. So I don’t know why you have to broadcast my personal life to my other boss.”

“I apologize, Ms. Sanford, I will not talk with Jan about you ever again. Let’s go… we’re late for the board meeting. Pepper would have been hounding me like two hours ago.” Stark grins slyly.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have let her quit then.” Hope replies.

They walk into the boardroom. Edwards stands up and states. “Anthony. You are late… again. Perhaps your assistant is not keeping up with her responsibilities?”

“Harvey, cut it. She’s doing great. You know what I say – You can’t make an entrance if you’re early.” Stark replies easily.

The board looks at Hope suspiciously. “Alright, let’s get this meeting started.” Mr. Davenport declares.

Hope takes notes while they go over the normal topics. She looks up in surprise when Ms. Welsh speaks up. “Due to recent speculation, I feel the need to go over our company’s relationship policy.”

“Sure. Has anything changed?” Stark asks.

“Anthony. There has been speculation that you are dating your PA. Remember what happened with Ms. Potts? We don’t want another repeat.”

“So, Helena, do tell. What happened with Ms. Potts?” Stark leans forward with his elbows on the table.

“We were on edge that she would bring up a sexual assault case.”

“And why?”

“Because, Anthony, need I remind you of past times?”

“Do you mean Stane? I hope you remember that it was me who brought his dealings to light. Me. And on the other note, Ms. Potts quit because she received a job offer as a CFO, which fit her better than my assistant. I encouraged her to take the job, and wrote her letter of recommendation myself. I’m not sure what you’re getting at here.”

“So you and Ms. Sanford are not involved in a relationship?”

“Of course we are! I’m her boss! You are supposed to communicate with those who work for you. Therefore, I have a relationship with every worker here! Are we done here?” Stark angrily walks out the door. “Ms. Sanford? Come with me.”

Hope stands up and follows him.

Once he is at his desk, Stark massages his temples. “I’m sorry, Hope, that was… uncalled for. I will have another word with them later. Go enjoy your lunch with Jan.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you after lunch.”


	17. Chapter 17

Jan takes Hope out to the Longhorn. Once they sit down, Jan squeezes Hope’s hand. “I’m so excited! He told me he took you and your daughter to the Four Seasons. He looked so happy!”

“Yea, but they brought up work propriety in the meeting today. Tony got really mad.”

“Yes, well, it’s not really my story to tell, but his godfather was a grade A creep, and his father had several affairs. So naturally the board thinks that he’ll be exactly like them. And now sexual harassment is being reported all over the country wayy more than past years. So I guess they’re trying to stay on the right path.”

“Oh ok. So anything new with you?”

“Oh yes. Yes! I almost forgot! I’m pregnant!”

“What!? That’s awesome!!” Hope squeals.

“It’s too early know the gender, but if it’s a girl, would you mind if I used the name Hope – either as a first or middle name? I always loved the name.”

“Nope. Totally don’t mind. How’s Hank?”

“He’s _ecstatic_. And he doesn’t usually show a whole lot of emotion. So I’m happy.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!!! Rape mentioned in this chapter!!!

Several months pass, and Tony takes Hope and Avery out places on a regular basis. After gossip gets around, HR makes them sign a NDA, so that there will be no lawsuit to SI if anything happens to their relationship. When Hope told her family that she was dating Tony, Andrew flattened his lips, got up from the table, and left the room. He then returned to inform Hope that “that rich playboy would never be welcome in this household.” Claudia and Abby looked worriedly after him, but told her that if she was happy, they were happy for her.

One night when Tony and Hope are out on a walk, he informs her that he thinks they put a video camera in his office. “I swear, they have no sense of privacy whatsoever! They think that since they have minimal shares in the business, they can do whatever they want! Don’t they know that I can make whatever decision I want based solely on the stock I own?”

“Why are they so persistent about this stuff?”

His face looks troubled. “If I tell you, will you keeps this between you and me?”

“Of course!” She squeezes his hand.

“Well, my dad had cheated on my mom a few times, but Stane was the biggest issue. He and my dad had been business partners for ages. He was actually my godfather. So when my mom and my dad didn’t have much time for me – Dad with SI or Mom with her travelling, Becca, or charities – Obadiah spent a lot of time with me. He was always so nice, and he gave me the attention I had needed, but after I turned 10, his whole demeanor towards me changed. He was more rough – his excuse was that he was making me a better businessman. He then used me to release his sexual desires. I’m not going to tell you what he did to me, but it was horrible. At age 10, I didn’t know what was going on – all I knew was I didn’t like it. By 13, I knew that what he was doing was illegal, and he could get thrown in jail, but he threatened that he would do it to Becca if I told. And she was always sick! I-I didn’t know what to do, but I knew that I had to protect Becca. So I let him… Then Becca got worse, and passed right before I left for college. I told Stane that he could never touch me again or I would report him. He hasn’t since. That’s one of the reasons I became a teacher – I wanted to stay as far away from him as possible. After we had gotten certain complaints against him at SI, I knew he had to be outed. So I spoke to each employee privately, asking if he had imposed on them sexually – at all. I got a total of 250 people! When I reported that, the Board elected to fire him. He was then arrested a month later, caught raping a prominent businessman’s 16 year-old daughter.”

“That’s disgusting!” Hope’s face twists in horror.

“Yea, and it kills me when they imply that I’d be like him. Yea, I have the reputation of a playboy, but it was all consensual and before you, I kept my personal and work life separate. Even Pepper was only a good friend and confidant. But I guess they just don’t want to lose stock value with bad publicity.”

“Yea, but it stinks that they’re taking it out on you.” Hope’s phone dings. It’s from Jan. “Jan’s in labor!”

“No way. I’m excited for them.” Tony grins. “I’m sure we’ll hear the news soon enough. Her mon will probably call me… I’ll let you know.” As they reach Hope’s house, Tony tells her. “I’d love to take your family out to dinner. Can you talk with them.”

“I can try, but you know my dad.”

He gives her a quick kiss on the lips. “I know , but maybe he’ll change his mind. Unless you don’t want to…”

“No. No. I want to. I just don’t have much faith that it’ll happen.” Hope embraces him. “I’ll see you later.”

 _I should really start thinking about moving out_. She thinks as she reaches the door.


	19. Chapter 19

Andrew is in his recliner when she walks through the living room. “You know, Avery was asking when you’d be home. Maybe if you acted like her mother instead of gallivanting around with your boss…”

“Dad. I was gonna take her with me, but you insisted that she stay and play with you.”

“Well, I don’t want her to get too attached. You are doomed to fail, and she shouldn’t get caught up in the middle of it.”

“Dad. That was uncalled for.” Abby steps into the room. “Give Hope a break. She’s doing great for a single mom. Why can’t she have a life, too?”

“Abigail.” Andrew says warningly.

“Dad. I’ve been so afraid to stand up to you in her defense, but I’ve had enough! What are you even blaming her for? Having a kid before she was married? Not knowing who the father is? Or is it something else? Are you sure it’s not your pride that you don’t have a perfect daughter that’s getting to you? Pride is a deadly sin! Hope repented for her sin, but it doesn’t seem that you have. Remember the prostitute that Jesus forgave? What did He say again? ‘He who is without sin cast the first stone’ – are you sinless?”

“Abigail – that is enough!”

“No Dad, it’s not…” She yells at him as Hope drags her from the room.

“Abby, stop. Thank you for standing up for me, but you don't need him to get mad at you, too.”

“I know, but Hope, he's always acting like all the evil in the world came from you! I had enough.”

“Thank you.” A squeal cuts the rest of her sentence off.

“Mommy!”

“Avery!”

“Mommy, how was your walk with – with Tony?”

“It was fun! Did you have fun with Poppop today?”

“Yes! We played catch and went to the candy store!”

“That’s good. How much candy did you have?”

Avery looks down. “Too much. Poppop let me get three things. He told me to only have two today, but I ate all three.”

“That wasn’t good. But thank you for being honest. Come on, it’s time for bed.”

As Hope is tucking Avery in, Avery asks, “Momma, is Mister Tony going to be my new Daddy?”

Hope hesitates. “Why do you ask that?”

“My friend Molly at school just got a new daddy. Her old daddy died when she was a baby.”

“Well, honey, I don’t know. Would you like him to be?”

“Yes! He’s nice and funny, and he takes us places. And you smile a lot.”

Tears came to Hope’s eyes. She hadn’t realized how much her and her dad’s feud had affected Avery. After kissing Avi goodnight, she went to find her dad.

“Dad, could I talk to you for a moment?” She asks when she finds him in his study.

“How can I help you, Hope?” He looks up from the book he was reading.

“Avery just said something that made me feel like we haven’t had the best atmosphere around the house. Can we put aside our differences and be a loving full family for her? I know you love her, and maybe you don’t love me anymore, but can you at least try?”

Andrew looks at the wall behind her, then says, “Hope, I do love you; I’ve just been to proud to admit it. I’m sorry that I’ve been a terrible father. I’d like to make it up to you. Please give me a second chance. What Abby said, it really hit me. It made me realize how bad I’d been treating you. What you did was wrong, but you raised Avery the best you could even though I did what it seemed all I could to me you fail, to show you the consequences of sinning. While I was worse.”

Hope just stands there, staring at him. “You – you really mean all that?”

“Yes, dear, I do. Is there anything I can do to try make it right? Just tell me.”

“Well, you can start by being civil to Tony. What did he ever do to you?”

“I just – didn’t want to see you getting hurt again. With his reputation, it seemed like he was just bored with his whatever… but I don't know because I have never spoken with him, but he seems to care about you.”

“Dad, he asked if he could take us out to dinner. Would you be willing to go?”

Andrew taps his fingers on the end table beside his chair. “I suppose I would… see how this guy is treating my daughter. Just let me know when.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!! IMPLIED/REFERRENCED RAPE!!

On Monday, Hope walked into work a little happier than normal.

“Hey Hope,” Sheldon greets her at the door. “You look happy. Did Stark finally put out?”

She shoots him a disgusted look but otherwise ignores him. When she gets to her desk, she notices that Cade was harassing Mia about something.

Now Mia is 4’11”, and probably only weighs 95lbs. She looks terrified.

“C’mon Mia. Just say you’ll go out with me. You know you want to.” Cade wheedles.

“Cade… I don’t really… want to…” Mia replies.

“Mia. Come on.”

Mia keeps turning him down until Hope gets annoyed. “Cade… come on. Pick on someone your own size, not the size of your…” She gestures towards his crotch.

“I’ll have you know that it is rather big.” Cade puffs his chest out.

“Not if it counts for ¾ of your personality.”* Hope fires back. When Cade sputters around for a comeback, she says. “ Now go sit down and work.”

Mia mouths “Thank you” to her.

After break, she goes to Tony’s office. He’s working on a tiny engine.

“Hope! Good to see you! I need you – c’mere. I need to you stand here and put this right” he grunts “there. Great. Thanks. Now hold this righhhhht. There. Right there. Good.” He pokes the engine with his screwdriver, then pulls back with a yelp. “Ahhh!”

“Omigosh! Are you ok?” Hope asks.

“Yea I’m fine… just keep… there…” His breath is coming in short bursts now. It must really hurt.

“No, it’s spazzing you out. Sit. Rest. We can finish in a moment.”

“Yea. Yea.” He’s breathing heavily. “It’s just a shock... So you hear Jan has a daughter?”

“Yea, Mary Hope. She told me they’re prolly gonna call her Hope. I’m touched.”

They sit in silence for a few more minutes until Tony says. “Ok, pain gone, let’s finish this engine.”

“Yea. By the way, my dad agreed o let you take us out for supper.”

“Really!? How’d you manage that?”

“That is a story for outside work.” Hope laughs.

“Ok, now that that’s done, what’s on my schedule for today?”

“You agreed to a tour of the company to check up on all departments. You up for that?”  
Tony shrugs. “Yes, sure, why not? Where do we start?”

“Base level… and we’ll work our way up.”

“Ok, but we need a schedule for this, or I’ll never be able to leave. Give me, say 20 minutes per department. Make sure they know I have to leave. Some of the managers are total kiss-ups.” He rolls his eyes.

“That works… and I’ll transfer the calls to my phone in case you are needed.”

They walk through each department, Tony talking with many of the workers. Hope is impressed – he doesn’t ever forget a name, and he seems to know something about each worker, asking questions like “How’s Ellie?” “Did David’s team win the finals?” “How did your cooking contest go?” The employees all love him.

By the time they get to Accounting, Hope feels a migraine coming on. “Oh, well, I can power through it.” She thinks.

Sheldon is the acting manager while Jan is out on maternity. “Oh Mr. Stark. Hope. Welcome to Accounting.” He greets them.

“Hi Sheldon. How would you say this department is faring?”

“I’d say it’s doing well. We basically just crunch the numbers from all other departments so when the company’s succeeding, so do we. Now, I can’t fire people, but Cade has been trying to bully Mia into trying to go out with him. Hope stopped that this morning, but there’s no telling for now if he’ll try again.”

“Seriously?” Tony’s expression darkens for a second, then his face returns to impassive. “Thank you for letting me know.”

He goes out to talk to the employees in the office. Hope can feel her migraine building. Twenty minutes is almost up so she stands up to alert Tony, and she crumples to the floor.

“Oh my gosh, Hope!” Mia shrieks.

Tony looks up and runs over, and Sheldon runs out of his office.

“Hope… are you ok?” Tony asks her softly, but she doesn’t respond. “Ok… I need some help here. Mia, could you accompany Hope and me to my office? Everyone else, I’m sorry, but I have to go. Cade, you will be written up for sexual harassment. You will be terminated if I get another complaint.”

Cade stands in the way of the door. “How can you say that when you and Hope are screwing every day on the job?”

“Cade. Enough.” Sheldon rebukes.

“Cade, I really don’t have time to argue with you right now, but I can assure you that no matter what goes on between us outside of work, we are professionals and would never do it at work. Now, please step away from the door before I fire you on the spot.”

Cade reluctantly moves. Tony scoops Hope up bridal style and nods for Mia to follow. A security guard stops Mia before she gets off on Tony’s floor. “You don’t have access.”

“Lee, she’s with me. Let her through.”

Tony lays Hope down on the sofa. “I’m going to kill the lights. She has a bad migraine. Could you… keep her company until she feels better? I would, but it would seem a little… sketchy with the lights out.” He asks Mia.

“Sure. Don’t worry about it. I’ll be here.” She smiles at him.

“Thank you. I’ll go now.” He turns to leave.

“Oh, Mr. Stark?” When he looks at her, “Thank you for the whole Cade thing.”

“It’s what any boss should have done.” He flips the switch, then leaves the office.

Hope’s migraine recedes about an hour later. She slowly sits up, her eyes adjusting to the dark.

“Hope, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” Mia asks her, sitting down beside her.

“Like someone put my brain through a cheese grater, but I’ll be ok. You didn’t have to stay here to whole time.”

“Mr. Stark asked me to. He looked really upset.”

Hope shrugs. “Yea, well, he worries too much.”

“I think it’s sweet – he really cares about you.”

“Yea. I’m lucky.” Hope smiles.

“And I wanted to thank you for what you did this morning. I feel so weak, like I can’t defend myself.”

“You shouldn’t have to. They should stop once you say no.” Hope replies angrily.

“Yea, the thing is, my boyfriend took advantage of me when I was like 21. He wanted to have sex that night, and I didn’t, but he held me down…” Mia’s voice catches. “And everybody told me that we were together, so… so it wasn’t really rape.”

“That is total crap! You said no, and he didn’t listen. It’s not like you belong to him! I’m so sorry.”

“I know… that’s what I tried to tell them, but… Now I’m afraid of dating anyone because there’s nothing I can do to stop someone if they decide to… I’ve tried self-defense classes and everything, but I’m just tiny.”

“Yea, I totally understand where you’re coming from. I’m sorry, I don’t know the right words to comfort you, but I will pray that you find peace. That is terrible!”

“Thank you. That would mean a lot. Right now, this job is keeping my thoughts off all that stuff, and then Cade comes up…. I just wanted to disappear.”

Hope hugs Mia as there is a knock at the door. Tony pokes his head in.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” He smiles softly at Hope.

“I’m doing ok. Thank you for the use of your office.”

“Anytime. But now, I’m sending Happy to take you home. You are done for the day. Done.” He holds up his hand as Hope resists, cutting off her words. “Ah! Ah! Ah! I’m worried about you – go.”

Hope deflates. “Fine. I’ll go. What about my car?”

“Leave it here. I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning – if you’re feeling 100%. C’mon, I’ll walk you out.” He turns to Mia. “Thank you. I’ll see you down to Accounting.”

“No, I’ll be alright. Just go with Hope.”

“Well. Thank you again.”

Mia smiles and walks out of the office. Tony slips his arm around Hope and helps her up. “Let’s go.”

When they get out to the car, Tony helps her in then asks. “So when are we doing dinner?”

“Is Sunday night ok?”

“Works for me. Do you think they’d prefer a steakhouse to a Le Bec Fin? I can pay for either one.”

“I’d say they’d feel more comfortable at a steakhouse, but I’ll let you know for sure tomorrow.”

“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow, and since we’re out of the building….” His eyes twinkle as he leans down to kiss her.

“See you tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * I am giving credit to the post I've seen on tumblr before - not sure who's post. If any of you know and would like to me to reference their name, I gladly will.


	21. Chapter 21

Sunday night, Hope’s family meets Tony at a little Italian restaurant for dinner. He had rented a room to give them privacy. Avery runs up to him and squeals, “Mister Tony!”

“Peanut!” He squats and opens his arms, in which she immediately jumps.

“Mister Tony. I haven’t seen you for some days, an-an guess what? I got my first tooth out!” She pulls her lower lip down to show him the hole where her tooth had been. “And I’m going to be Ellie in the school play! Can you come?”

“Avi, honey, give Mister Tony some time to answer.” Hope gently chides.

Avery turns back to Tony, looking expectantly at him for his answer.

“Wow! Your first tooth! That’s awesome! You must feel like a big girl now.”

“Yea. I do. At first I cried because I thought I wouldn’t have any more teeth, but Mommy told me I’d grow another set. She even gave me a dollar for getting my tooth out.”

“Wow. That must be special. Do you want to introduce me to your family?” He nods at Claudia, Andrew, and Abby.

“Well, you know Mommy – cuz” Her voice drops to a whisper “I saw you kiss her.” Tony laughs, looking a little embarrassed. “This is Aunt Abby. She knows a lot of fun things to do when I can’t play outside.”

“Hello Abby.”

“Hi. I’m a teacher.” She tells him. “The fun things are part of my job.”

“I can imagine.”

Avery pulls on his arm. “And this is Grandmom and Poppop. They are always home. Poppop buys me candy a lot.”

“Hello Tony, I’m Claudia and this is Andrew.” Claudia extends her hand.

“Hello. Hello.” He shakes their hands. “Shall we eat?”

Andrew is quiet and respectful all night, and the dinner goes off without a hitch. Claudia invites Tony back to the house “for some coffee”, saying, “I know you are more used to fancy houses….”

“Claudia, I would love to stop past.”

When Tony left, Andrew nods. “He seems nice enough.”

“I really like him.” Abby says. “Nothing like the tabloids want you to think.”


	22. Chapter 22

Tony is around more often now that Andrew has stopped blustering about his daughter’s life mistakes. He seems to blend in well.

One night, he and Abby are playing Sorry with Avery as Hope is making dinner. Out of the blue, Avery looks up and asks, “Mister Tony, are you gonna be my new dad?”

Tony almost spits out his water. “Weeeeeelll,” he says, glancing at Abby, who is covering a grin. “I don’t know… why would you ask that?”

“My friend Molly got a new dad when her first dad passed away when she was a baby. I never knew my first dad, and Molly’s younger than me.”

“Oh ok. Well, I don’t know… but if I am, you’d be the first to know other than your mom and me.”

Later that night, as Tony went to leave, he and Hope stepped outside to “say goodbye”.

“Avery asked me tonight if I was gonna be her new dad.”

“And what did you tell her?”

“That if I was, she’d be first to know other than you and me. Should – should we tell them… about…” Tony’s voice trails off.

“I don’t know… my dad will not react well, and he’s been warming up to you…”

“It’s ok if you don’t want to, Hope. It’s your choice. I’ll support you in whatever you want us to do. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.” He kisses her.

“I love you too. Goodnight.” After another hug, she lets him leave.


	23. Chapter 23

Hope does not sleep at all that night. She’s tossing and turning, wondering about what she should do. At 4:30, she decides to just get up. A few hours later, Claudia gets up.

“Oh, honey, are you ok? You look terrible.”

“It’s ok, Mom, I just couldn’t sleep.”

When she gets to work, Jan, who is now back at work, pulls her into her office. “Hope, you look like crap. Why are you here? You know Tony isn’t going to be happy with you.”

“Well, Tony can just suck it.” Hope replies, irritably.

Jan pulls back. “Wow. Did you guys have a fight or something?”

“No, but if he doesn’t stop mother henning, we just might. He’s treating me like I’m a fragile baby who can’t take care of myself.”

“Hope, you know it’s because he cares about you.”

“I know. I know. But I’ve dealt with this my whole life; I’m pretty sure I know if I’m ok or not.”

“Hope, remember Rebecca had the same problems as you, and she didn’t survive.” Jan chides her gently.

Hope feels a little remorseful, but she still wishes he would just leave her be. “Yeaa… I guess I can’t fault him for it then.”

When she gets to Tony’s office later that day, Tony takes one look at her and opens his mouth, but Hope raises her finger to stop him.

“Before you say anything, I know. I look like crap, and I don’t feel a whole lot better, but I have a job to do, and it’s not hindering me. I know you care about me, and maybe you see some of your sister in me, but you have to let me work. I need something to do. Please.”

Tony raised his hands in surrender. “Ok. Ok. I concede. Here, look these over. Tell me what you think.”


	24. Chapter 24

That Saturday, Hope gets a migraine so bad that she can’t move. She’s just lying in bed in immense pain. She and Tony had been out walking and as soon as they came in, she had collapsed. Tony had carried her to the couch and kneeled down beside her. She clutched his hand and wouldn’t let go. After two hours of staying the that position, her headache subsided and she slowly sat up.

“Thank you.” She tells Tony.

He looks like he wants to comment, but leaves it at “No problem.”

Claudia motions to Tony from the kitchen. He excuses himself and walks out.

“Is she ok?” Claudia asks.

“Yea, I think so. She’s strong.”

Claudia shakes her head. “They’ve just been getting worse and worse. She always comes home with one, and sometimes it lasts all night.”

“Claudia, I wouldn’t worry too much. I know she’s your daughter, and you’ll always worry about her, but she’ll push through, just like she does everything else.”

Later that night, when they’re alone, Tony asks Hope gently. “Why didn’t you tell me that your job at SI was wearing you out?”

  
Her expression became guarded. “What do you mean?”

“You’re getting migraines every night, and they’re affecting you more and more. I just want you to be ok. The company is not nearly important to me as your health.”

“Ok. Can we not talk about this right now? I. Am. Fine. What is your problem? I’ve been like this since I was 7, and I haven’t died yet. I know what I’m doing.”

“But you’re getting worse and worse. Everything you do is wearing you out faster. What if…”

“What if what? Do you want me to quit my job? Are you gonna become my sugar daddy?”

“No, Hope, come on. I’m just worried about you! Rebecca… you’re having the same problems she had right before she died. She just got so worn out that her body just gave up. I can’t bear to lose you, too. Or Avery.”

“Is _that_ what this is? You’re just going to go back to the fact that you want her to know you’re her dad? So that when I die apparently soon, you can still see her?” Hope hisses. “Fine. Why don’t I just go tell them now?” She storms out to the living room, where the adults were conversing.

“Hope. I didn’t mean that, and you know it.” Tony follows her.

“Guys, we have some news.” Hope says to Claudia, Andrew, and Abby. “Avi’s in bed right?”

Abby nods.

“Ok good.” She looks back at Tony who is standing in the doorway.

“Hope, you don’t have to…”

“No. No. You want me to – I guess I have to.” Before he can reply, she quickly says, “TonyisAverysfather.”

“I’m sorry, Hope, did you say that he is Avery’s father? How the-?” Andrew asks.

“Well, here’s another tidbit, he was also my _teacher_ , Mr. Carbonell.”

Andrew turns an angry glare to Tony. “So the rumors are true. You took advantage of my daughter – whether she was willing or not – you still took advantage of an underage child! You – you are _despicable_! Get out of my house! And never come back!”

“I know.” Tony hangs his head. “I was… there are no words for how disgusting… I’m sorry.” He looks at Hope one last time, then leaves.

Hope watches him leave, then falls to the ground, shaking.

“Hope, are you ok?” Abby asks, rushing to her side.

“Just need to go to bed. I’ll feel better in the morning.”


	25. Chapter 25

Tony gets in his car and immediately calls Jan.

“Jan, I think I screwed up.” He says as soon as she picks up.

“Oh, Tones. Are you crying? What happened?”

“I said something to Hope about her getting sick. I know it’s a touchy subject for her, and I like never bring it up or comment on it, but her mom told me she’s been coming home from work with a migraine and it’s been getting worse and worse. So I asked her about it, and maybe hinted that she probably should work a little less, and she made it sound like I told her I’d be her sugar daddy, which I didn’t mean at all! She would hate that! So I told her that she was like how Becca was” his voice hitched. “right before she died, and I told her I couldn’t bear to lose her or Avery. Then she – she… You see, we had this conversation where we were talking about whether we should tell her family that I’m Avery’s biological dad, and she didn’t think it was smart. So I left it. If she didn’t want to, it was here choice. I never brought it up again. So when I said that, she thought I was harping on the fact that I wanted to tell her family. So she goes out and tells them, and that I was also her teacher. So now they all think that the costume party story was a lit, and I was a pedophile teacher, which, because I…”

“Tony, shut up right now. You thought she was 21 or over. It was an adult party where _everyone_ was carded. _Everyone_. So there was no way at all that you knew. If you had known, you would have done nothing. And you know that.”

“Jan. But what if I never see them…” _Crash_!


	26. Chapter 26

“Jan. What if I never see them…” Tires squealed. There was a loud CRASH!

Jan froze in fear. Tony had sounded wrecked. Surely he wouldn’t…

“Tony! _TONY_! Are you there?”

“Jan?” He sounded a little dizzy. “Yea I’m here. They just… hit me broadside… they… musta ran red light. Jan, I can’t move, Jan, I can’t _MOVE_!”

“Tony stay on the phone with me, ok? You’ll be ok – don’t panic. Do you know what intersection you’re on?”

“Umm… 12th… and P-Piiiine.” He draws out the word “Pine.” “Jan, I can’t move at all. I’m stuck.”

“Sweetie, you’ll be ok. Stay on the phone. I’m going to call 911.” She uses Hank’s phone to call 911, then tells him to stay with the baby. She needs to go out. She gets in her and drives to about 10th and Pine, where she gets out and runs two blocks. The sight before her makes her eyes cloud. Tony’s car – Hope’s favorite one – the red Ferrari was absolutely _wrecked_. It was a miracle Tony was still alive. “Tony, hon, are you still there?”

“Yea… looks like cops are here. My neck hurts and I can’t breathe. Hope, I’m spazzing. I mean… Jan, I’m sorry.”

“Tones. It’s ok. Just stay still. They’ll help you out as soon as the ambulance gets here. I’m here. I’ll go with you to the hospital, ok?”

“You’re an angel, Jan. Can you just… keep talking?”

“Yes, I’m gonna go up and talk to the driver who hit you. He looks kinda upset. Just keep listening, ok?” She walks up to the man, who looks visibly shaken. “Are you ok, sir?”

“I just killed him… whoever that is in there, he’s gotta be dead.”

“No, he’s not. He’s my best friend and I’m talking to him on the phone. Tones you still there?”

“I’m still… here… I can’t move.” Tony mumbles.

“The ambulance should be here in a few minutes and they’re gonna get him out. Excuse me, I’m going to talk to the cops.” She moves past the man to where two police officers are standing.

“Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Ma’am, you can’t go any further.” One stops her.

“The man in that car,” she points to the Ferrari, “is still alive, but he’s trapped and he’s got to have a concussion and broken ribs at least. I’m on the phone with him right now. Tones, I’m putting you on speaker.”

“Ok… Jan, I’m freaking out a little over here. Where aren’t they getting me out?” Tony’s voice is rising.

“Sir, the ambulance is almost here. We’ll get you out. Do you have an emergency contact?”  
“Jan is my emergency contact….” The rest of his sentence is drowned out by the ambulance’s siren. They manage to get Tony out and into the van. Tony insists that Jan goes too.

 _Should I call Hope_? Jan wonders. Tony hadn’t said whether they still claimed to be together or not. Once they have him in a room, I’ll try calling her.

Hope doesn’t pick up, so Jan just sits in the waiting room, hoping and worrying. Finally, the doctor comes out and tells her.

“Normally, we don’t do this, but it’s _Tony Stark_ and he insisted. You can go in and see him – he’s stable. It’s a miracle – no internal bleeding at all. He has two broken ribs, three fractured ones, and a concussion. I believe he should stay here a few days, then he should be good to go if he takes it easy. Will you be able to see to that?”

“If I don’t, I’ll make sure someone else does.” Jan promises him. “Thank you so much!”

She goes in the room to see Tony lying there, awake but not moving. “Hey Tones. How you feeling?”

“Hi. Like something hit me. Its hurts to breathe. How are you?”

“I’m thankful that you’re ok. Did the doctor tell you what he told me?”

“What, that I’m supposed to stay here for a few days? Nah. Jan, I already can’t stand it . I’m leaving tomorrow. You should go to bed so you can get to work tomorrow – unless you want off.”

“No, I’m gonna go. I have to tell Hope.”

“Hope!” Tony closes his eyes. “Does she know?”

“No, I called her, but she didn’t pick up. I wasn’t sure what to do about that.”

“Yea. I don’t know. I highly doubt she ever wants to see me again. And Jan? Don’t try to sway her any way, please. Just let her… choose on her own.”

“Of course Tones. And no matter what happens, you’ll be ok. Get some rest. Good night.” She kisses his forehead and walks out.


	27. Chapter 27

Hope wakes up with a sense of foreboding. She tries not to think about her argument with Tony last night as she gets ready for work, but she feels guilty. He only asked her because he cared. And she threw it all back in his face. Now, she wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t even want to see her again.

“Honey, you look sick. You could just call out of work today.” Claudia suggests.

“No, I’m fine. I’m not going to stay home because of an argument.” Hope replies.

“Well, if he tries anything…” Andrew warns.

Hope sends him a tired look. “He’s not going to try anything, Dad. I’ll be fine. Please, don’t say a word of this to Avi. I will talk to her.”

When Hope gets to work, Jan calls her into her office. “Good morning Hope. Can I talk to you? Please sit down.” When Hope sits, she says. “ I tried calling you last night, but you didn’t pick up. It doesn’t matter, I’m just telling you that you don’t have to go upstairs today.”

 _He already replaced me_? Hope thinks. “Ok, but why?”

“Tony’s not in today. He… was in a bad accident last night, and is in the hospital.”

“Oh my gosh! What happened?”

“A car ran a red light and hit him broadside. He has two broken ribs, three fractured ones, and a concussion. It could have been much worse. You should’ve seen the damage,” Jan shudders. “If I hadn’t been on the phone with him at the time, I would have thought he was killed.”

“Did he… say anything about me?”

“Yes. That’s why he called. He was pretty upset, was afraid he had pushed a little too far this time. I don’t really know. Anyways, he’s in the hospital right now.”

“Which one?”

“St. Jude’s.”

“Ok… Is he staying in there long?”

“He told me he’s leaving tonight. I guess I’m gonna go pick him up. Let’s hope he doesn’t try to come to work tomorrow. He’s in too much pain.”

“Ok. Can you just… let me know when you pick him up? I need to… talk to him.”

“Hope,” Jan says, looking sad. “He told me not to get in the middle of it, but please, please, don't cause him any more pain.”

Hope nods mutely and leaves Jan’s office.


	28. Chapter 28

Later that night, Jan texts Hope. **_Leaving now to pick Tones up_**. Hope reads her text, gets up, and drives away. She drives to Tony’s house with a box of his favorite donuts, and cleans up his house, waiting for him to get home.

Hope’s waiting in the living room, when all of a sudden, a limo pulls up and a woman steps out. She is _gorgeous_! Tall, thin with strawberry blonde hair, she is the epitome of class. This woman walks up and sits on one of the chairs on Tony’s porch. A few minutes later, Jan’s car pulls up and parks. She helps Tony put of the car, and they slowly make their way up to the house.

Hope watches the woman stand up and walk towards the pair. “Tony, are you ok? I was so worried!”

“Pepper!” The joy in Tony’s voice was unmistakable. “Jan, you called Pepper? How are you? It’s so good to see you!” They hug as tightly as Tony’s cracked ribs would allow.

 _He looks so happy! Happier than he ever was with me._ Hope thinks. “What am I even doing here?” She mumbles, tears springing to her eyes. “Good thing I parked out back.” She walks out the back door and drives home.


	29. Chapter 29

Tony was overjoyed that Pepper would come see him. He hadn’t seen her in ages! She took his mind off his argument with Hope.

“So we can catch up,” he says, “once we get inside. I need to lie down.”

He stops short when he gets in the house. It was clean, there was coffee brewing, and a box of donuts sat on the counter. _What the heck?_ He thinks. “Pep, did you do this?”

“No I sat outside the whole time.” She looks as bemused as he did.

Jan smacks herself in the head. “Hope. She asked me to let her know when I was going to pick you up from the hospital. But if it was her, why would she leave?”

“Jarv, could you show me the security feed for the past hour?”

 _“I’m on it, sir.”_ Came the voice from the ceiling. Tony’s greatest invention – the AI.

“Wait, who’s Hope?” Pepper asks.

“It’s a… long story.” Tony replies. “I’ll get to it.”

A screen pops up in front of him. " _Here you go, sir."_

They watch to see Hope come in the back, clean up, make coffee and set out the donuts. She then sits on the window seat to wait. When Pepper pulls up, she moves back so as to not be seen. Then, as Tony and Hope pull up, she stands up, wipes her eyes, and walks out the back door, mumbling something. She then drives away.

“What was that all about?” Jan wonders.

“I don’t know… it’s like she saw something that made her leave.” Pepper comments. “Could she have thought that we were together?”

“I don’t know why she would. It’s not like I text you all the time or anything. I haven’t seen you in ages. I even told her there was nothing between us even when you were my PA.”

“Do you want me to call her?” Jan asks.

“No, I think I should. Do you have my phone?” Tony asks.

“First of all, can I know the full story?” Pepper intervenes. Tony shrugs and begins the story…


	30. Chapter 30

Hope drove away from Tony’s house, tears streaming down her face. She pulls into a park parking lot a few blocks away, knowing that she shouldn’t drive like this. She just sits there, crying.

 _Why am I even crying_? She thinks. _He wasn’t dating her. He said he hadn’t seen her in ages. And he’s too good of a guy to do that. But he likes her, so why was he dating me? Then she remembers. He didn’t show interest in me until he realized Avi was his daughter, and he felt it was his responsibility to be around, but I didn’t want to tell my family how I had screwed up. So I forced him into this. I also came onto him at the party. So it’s all my fault. Now Avi will never know her dad as Dad, and everyone will miss him…_

Her phone rings. It’s Tony. She clears her throat, and practices saying “Hello?” as calmly and put together as possible.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Hope? It’s Tony. How are you?”

“I’m ok. Jan told me you were in an accident?”

“Yea, got banged up pretty bad. Could I… talk to you? Like maybe face-to-face?” When Hope doesn’t answer, he backtracks. “I mean, I get if you don’t wanna see me…”

“No it’s fine… do you want me to come to your house, or…?”

  
“My house is fine. I’ll see you then.” He hangs up.

 _So this is it. She thinks. He’s gonna break up with me here. Misewell get it over with_. She drives around for a few minutes before steeling herself and parking out front of Tony’s house.

Jan answers when she knocks on the door. “Hi Hope. It’s good to see you. Tones is out on the couch.”

Hope walks out to see him barely sitting up, leaning against Pepper. “Hope, how are you?” He tries to smile.

“I’m ok. How are you doing?”

“Ok, all things considered.” He winces as he tries to sit up a little more.

“Tony, don’t hurt yourself.” Pepper admonishes.

“Oh yea. Hope this is Pepper, my old PA. Pepper, this is Hope.”

“Nice to meet you.” Pepper extends her hand.

Hope shakes it with a quiet, “Nice to met you, too.”

“Jan and Pep, can you leave for a moment?” Tony asks. When they step outside, he looks at Hope. “Hope, can I just tell you how sorry I am? I shouldn’t have pushed you like that. I’m sorry.”

It takes Hope a few minutes to realize he’s apologizing for the fight they had the other night. “Oh, you mean about the fight!” She shakes her head. “I’m sorry… it’s just been… nevermind… Tony, you were just worried about me! I understand – it probably brought up some bad memories. It’s my fault. I’ve spent most of my life fighting to get what I want because I have no one to help me. Now that I do, I guess I just didn’t realize that you had my back at all times. I should’ve told my family that your Avi’s dad, but just not the way I did. I will talk to them when I get home. I reacted poorly and I am so so sorry. And I don’t know what happened exactly, but I can’t help but feel guilty about your accident.”

“Hope, don’t be. I had the green light and the other guy’s breaks failed. I’m just happy that I’m alive. And…” His voice trails off. “Does that mean we’re still together?”

Hope looks at him in shock. “You still want to be with me? I mean, I just… And I thought you liked Pepper!”

“Of course I want to be with you Hope, I love you! We both acted irrationally… we just got over our first big fight. And Pepper? She’s like a sister to me – she’s dating my friend from the Air Force, Rhodey. I can’t believe I haven’t told you that! I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok. I love you, too. And I’d give you a hug, but I don’t want to hurt you.” She settles for a quick kiss. “Well, I’m glad we got that straightened out.”

“Does… Avery know about me?” Tony asks hesitantly.

“Well, I didn’t tell her, and I asked my family to not tell her. We can tell her together.” She smiles at him.

Jan pokes her head in. “You guys good? Do you mind if we come back in?”

“All good Jan.” Hope replies.

Pepper and Jan return to the living room. “I am soo happy you guys made up! You did make up, right?” They nod. “Oh good. Because I love you both, and I didn’t want to be the in between.”

“No worries, Jan. Now Tony better stay home for a few weeks to recover…”

“I hate to be a hypocrite, but no can do. Next Monday is the big company merger, and I have to be there for press. I will, however, stay home all this week, and see how I feel after that.”

“You can’t just tell them you were in a bad car accident?”

“I could… but then you’d have to deal with the press, and I love you too much to do that. Besides, all I have to do is sit there and do interviews, and I’ve done this enough to make it a piece of cake. Ask Pepper.”

“It’s true,” she replies. “I never realized how much of a gift Tony had for it until I had to do them myself.”

“Yea, well, you learn stuff when you’ve grown up in the spotlight.” Tony shrugs.


	31. Chapter 31

After the press conference, Tony works from home for the next two weeks, always complaining that he’s bored out of his mind. Penny works three days at SI, and two days at Tony’s house. When he’s ready to leave the house again, she drives him to her house.

She sits everyone down in the living room, Andrew grumbling all the way, and tells them they all need to talk. Once they are all seated, she turns to Avery. “Avi, baby, remember how you said you don’t know your first dad?”

“Yes.” Avery nods.

“Well, Mister Tony is your first dad. We just didn’t know it for a long time.”

Tears in her eyes, Avery looks at Tony. “Why weren’t you here, then? Why did I think I didn’t have a daddy? Why weren’t you here when Grandad was always mad at Mommy and made her cry?”

“Honey, I didn’t know. If I had known, I would have been around. I would make sure you know that I love you. But I’m here now, and I have the rest of my life to make it up to you. Will you forgive me?” Tony looks ready to cry himself.

Avery stands there with her arms crossed. Finally she says, “I forgive you cuz Mommy says you’re always supposed to forgive people. And I really want a dad. Can I give you a hug?”

“A gentle one.” Avery wraps her arms around Tony at his ok.

“Thank you Daddy.”

“No, thank YOU, squirt.”

“Now, baby, can you go play for a little while while the adults talk?” Hope asks.

Avery pouts a little, but leaves the room.

“You did such a good job.” Tony quietly tells Hope. “I’m so proud of you.”

“Hope.” Andrew says. “Why would you tell Avery that? You can’t seriously be thinking of allowing this sick…”

“Dad, I’m gonna stop you right there. What I said that night a few weeks ago, well, it was true, but I didn’t explain everything. He was my teacher, but we had no relationship inside or outside the classroom. Yes, he was my favorite teacher, but not because he would have sex with me. It was because of the subject and his way of teaching. He made learning science fun. When we had sex, it was at a Halloween party I shouldn’t have been able to be at. Truth is, Cara and I made fake IDs to get in – it was a 21 and over party. Cara dared me to lose my virginity because I would never be cool. And I know, I should’ve stopped there, if not waayyy before, but I was drunk and subject to peer pressure. So I started flirting with people. I guess Tony found insulting sarcasm attractive because he responded. Things escalated after that, and there was an empty bedroom, which was a rare thing, and you know…” She let them fill in the blank. “He had no idea I wasn’t at least 21. I had consented, and that was that. You know from the past months that he’s a good guy and wouldn’t hurt a fly. So just give him another chance because he deserves it.”

“Why would you say that?” Andrew blusters.

“Of all the time we were dating, did he  say or do something that would harm me? Or imply that he’d be into underage kids? Yea he talks about Peter and RiRi but they’re interns that are dating. They have some great ideas.”

Abby speaks up. “I think everyone deserves a second chance, right Dad? I mean, Hope never had to forgive you.”

Andrew relents. “Ok, I am willing to give you another chance, seeing that Avery is excited to have a dad, and Hope is advocating strongly for you. But God help you if you do one thing that could hurt or endanger them.”

“I would never purposely do anything to harm them.” Tony assures him.


	32. Chapter 32

The next few months went rather smoothly for Tony and Hope. Tony waited until he was almost fully healed before coming back to work full-time. Hope was more ready to stop working and rest if she had a migraine, which brings us back to the beginning of the story.

Hope had begun to crawl under Tony’s desk and sleep there when she had migraines, but it was never when he was sitting there. He was usually also out of the office. However, the board started making passive-aggressive comments again about their relationship. Ms. Rivers, a member of the board, even pulled Hope aside.

“I know you are now dating Mr. Stark,” She told Hope, “but just because he's your boyfriend and boss, do not feel the need to, you know, service him when he commands. That is against our company policy.”

“I'm sorry, so I’m not supposed to do my job?” Hope plays dumb to what Ms. Rivers is implying.

“What I mean is if Mr. Stark asks ‘for a quickie’ if I may be so crass, you are not to oblige.” She users her fingers as quotations.

“Well, thank you for that, Ms. Rivers. I will now know what to do if that scenario ever occurs. I have never had to deal with such things in the past.” Hope replies, then relays the message to Tony.

“They've got to have cameras in here or something.” He bites on his lower lip. “But where?”

After that conversation, Hope and Tony did their best to get the board to acknowledge that a camera was put in Tony’s office without his knowing.

“Hey Hope, can you give me that ‘quickie’?”

“I daresay Mr. Stark that I mustn’t oblige you.” Hope drawls as she hands him the folder he had gestured at.

One day, Hope had a bad migraine, but Tony had some paperwork to take care of.

“Just get under anyways. You and I both know we're not doing anything wrong.” So she crawls under. Two hours later and her pain is gone.

“I can come out now.” She tells him.

“Wait a second. I wanna test something.” Tony stopped her. He started moaning and moving. After a few minutes, the door burst open. Tony sat correctly, looking over some blueprints. Now, my readers, we get to the beginning of this story. I will recount it for you.

“What is going in here?” Mr. Edwards opens the door with a bang.

“I’m working?” Tony responds. “I don’t think it’s really properly etiquette to barge into the CEO’s office, unannounced, when the door is closed.”

“Stark, don’t lie to me. What was with those- those gestures a moment ago?”

“What ‘gestures’?” Tony asks innocently, using his fingers to show quotations.

Mr. Edwards shifts from foot to foot, looking embarrassed. “Just… continue your work…” He leaves the office rather quickly and shuts the door.

“I told you there’s a camera,” Tony says.

“Well, you handled that perfectly,” Hope laughs

“You feeling better?”

“Yea, I’m gonna go back to work now.” She crawls out as Tony scoots back.

“Let’s confront them at the meeting this afternoon.” He requests.

“Sure, why not?”


	33. Chapter 33

That afternoon, as they walk into the meeting, Tony greets them all. “Afternoon all, first question of the day, are there cameras installed in my office?” He looks pointedly at Mr. Edwards, who starts to sputter.

“Wh- wha- why would you ask that?”

“Well, for one, why did you charge into my office today? And why did you say that I was making ‘gestures’? Did you _see_ me? You shouldn’t make false accusations like that. It could cost you your seat on the board.”

Everyone shifts around uncomfortably.

“You do know that I own controlling interest of this company. I basically appoint and fire you. Please know that if none of you answer me and I find a hidden camera in my office, I will have your sear terminated.”

“Mr. Stark,” Mr. Hawkin, the youngest member of the board at 35, raises his hand.

“Yes Finley?”

“I was against this the whole time, but they wouldn’t listen because I am so young and apparently unwise, but they did install a camera in your room, I’m not quite sure where, but I can show you the feed. I told them it would come back to bite them, but to no avail. Here you go.” He hands Tony his phone. “They set it up once while you were away on a business trip. Here, they saw Ms. Sanford crawl under your desk, and come out before you got back into your office. I don’t know why she was there, but as nothing has happened, there shouldn’t be a problem. This has happened several times. But then today, they had a problem, because you were sitting at your desk. Then you started… moving. As they can’t see under the desk, they could only assume…”

“Thank you, Finn.” Tony looks over the rest of the board. “ Seriously? First of all, that should have been run past me. That is the one of the first rule of mine. I respect your privacy, you respect mine. Harvey, I’m sure that if I looked into your affairs as illegally as you have mine, I’m sure I’d find some… stuff.” He wrinkles his nose. “Bruce, didn’t you dabble in some…”

“Ok, enough!” Mr. Wayne yells. “We see your point.”

“Thank you. Now, to assure you, nothing happened. Ms. Sanford has health problems. Do you remember my sister Rebecca?”

“Yes, God rest her soul.” Marie Rivers murmurs.

“Well, Ms. Sanford here has some of the same issues. When Rebecca was here, as she was very often for my father doted on her, and she fell ill, Dad would tell her to sleep under his desk. It was soundproof and pitch black. She could sleep and her migraine would subside. That is what Ms. Sanford does. We were just checking to see if there actually were cameras. We are in a relationship, yes, we signed a NDA for that remember? And we are professionals – we keep our private relationships out of work. When we are done with the meeting, this camera will be taken out, and if you dare try anything like that in the future, you will be terminated. Shall we carry on?” Tony looks more than a little upset now.

The rest of the board meeting goes off without a hitch. Hope suspects that it’s because they are afraid of angering him more. When they get back to the office, Tony is fuming. “I can’t believe they thought it was ok to do that. Now based on the feed, the camera should be…” He stands on his desk. “…Right here.” He yanks it from the ceiling and stomps on the lens. “They’re not getting it back.”

Hope just watches with her eyebrows raised and arms crossed. “What's this about?” She asks quietly when he sits down.

“It's just that… I know they don't know what happened to me, and I know my dad and Obie didn't have the best track record, and what I did today was probably not the smart way to do that, but I just wish they'd give me the benefit of the doubt. Like before you, and I'm not saying that you’re a problem – you are the best thing that ever happened to me, but before you, there was nothing that should have even made them suspicious. As a celebrity, I had a publicist who told me to take this person here and that person there, and that it would help me gain popularity and would help business or whatever, and so I did it. Then I got the so-called ‘playboy’ reputation. But that never flowed into my work life. The girls never visited me at work, I never tried to get cozy with any of the women at work. Jan, who I probably talk to the most, is basically my sister. My dad gave her the job. And she's the one who was talking to me about my love life, trying to set me up. I always either laughed her off, or whatever. But they have been on my tail since I started! And then with Pepper, she was my PA for a long time – I think since I started. They tried to make it look like I drove her away with unwanted advances, even when she completely denied them herself! I set her up with my friend in the Air Force, and I think he’s gonna propose soon. We became good friends, but we never had any romantic feelings. And do you really think all those men on the board aren’t freakin hypocrites?” He growls, then shakes his head. “I’m sorry, I’m rambling.”

She smiles softly. “It’s ok. Listen, we can talk about it tonight over dinner, ok? I’ll talk to you then. I have to go pick Avi up from school. Love you.” She touches his cheek for a second then walks out the door.

‘Love you, too.” He puts his elbows on his desk and stares out into space until a knock on his door startles him back into reality. “Come in!”

“Hey Tones, how are you?” Jan asks.

“I’m ok, just didn’t have the greatest day.”

“Yea, I can tell. You know it’s 430 right?”

“You’re wrong! It was just 300!” He exclaims.

“Tony… go home. Get a shower, take your girl out to dinner, then get. Some. Sleep. You need it. By the way, I’m borrowing Hope for lunch tomorrow.”

He stands up, stretches, and starts gathering his things. “If she wants to, I don’t care. You know that. I’ll see ya.” He gives her a brief hug then walks out of his office, calling his chauffeur. He’s too tired to drive home.


	34. Chapter 34

The next day, when Jan and Hope are out to lunch, Jan says, “So Tony had a rough day yesterday.”

Hope sighs, “Yea we found out that they hid a video camera in his office. He went off on them, and then felt bad about it later, but he just wishes they’d trust him when he says nothing’s going on. It bothers him a lot.”

“Well, it should. Those old guys used to try to flirt with all the receptionists when they came in until the Stane scandal. Tony never did even when he was working here while still in school. He was quiet, did his work, and once in a while had a sarcastic comment to make, but he was never creepy like they were. I worked here with him.”

Hope nodded and didn’t think anymore of it.

Later that week, while they were out to dinner alone, Tony asked. “Now I don’t mean like right away, but you did have an interest in getting married right?”

“Well, I mean, yea, I guess.” Hope laughs. “I guess I didn’t really think about it. I think I just figured that’s how we would progress. Ok, now it sounds bad. Now it sounds like I wasn’t ever thinking of marrying you at all. That’s not true. I-I just mean…”

Tony places his hand on hers. “Hope. It’s ok. I know what you meant. I was just wondering. Can I ask one more question?” She nods. “Do you think you’d want to get married at all in the near future?”

“I think I’d be ready.” She banters.

“Ok that’s good.” He smiles deviously. “Because I have a great friend. His name’s Bruce, and I think he’s looking for a wife.”

“What’s wrong with you?” Hope smacks him lightly on the arm. “I’m not some mail-order bride. He has to ask me himself in person.”

“I’ll let him know.”

“Yea tell him to contact me. We’ll set up a date.” Hope smirks.

“Oh now that I think about it, you probably wouldn’t like him. He has like breathtaking anger problems. I feel like you’re not into that. But I can find the perfect guy for you. Good looking, even tempered, plenty of money, oh, and he’s got an adorable daughter. How about it?” Tony opens his arms.

“Hmm, I don’t know… I usually go for the ugly, angry, poor guys with sons right? Isn’t that my type?”

“Well, fine, if you don’t want me…” He smiles, then kisses her.

“Oh I want you, you ugly poor man.” They both laugh as the waitress brings the check. He pays it, leaving her a sizeable tip, then the happy couple leaves.


	35. Chapter 35

Two weeks later, they walk into the afternoon board meeting. Everyone stands up.

“What’s going on?” Tony asks.

“Mr. Stark, it has come to our attention that we owe you an apology. Until you started dating Ms. Sanford, and even after, you have never given us any reason for us to suspect any misconduct, sexually or not. We therefore sincerely apologize and going forward, we will be less doubtful of your integrity. We also hope that there will be no reason for that to change. Please accept our apology.” This comes from Harvey Edwards. Everyone else nods their assent.

Tony looks at Hope a little suspiciously. ‘Apology accepted… I think. What brought you to this conclusion?”

“Ms. Van Dyne-Pym. She was quite vocal in your honor. Although she is biased to you, we trust her to be direct.”

“Ok then. Thank you for your trust. Let’s get this meeting started.”

After the meeting, Tony was working on some specs in his office when he looks up and says, “Hope.”

“Hmm?”

“Did you talk to Jan about last board meeting?”

“Well when we were at lunch the next day, and she asked why you were so exhausted the day before.”

“So you just told her everything?”

“No…”

“Hope. I don’t need Jan to fight my battles for me! Don’t you see how needy I looked back in there? I needed my Dad’s favorite person other than Rebecca to go in and convince them that I wasn’t some… some shmuck! I don’t need that!”

“I’m sorry if what I said made you look bad, Tony, I really am. But I didn’t talk to Jan for that reason, and you know that. She asked about you because she cares about you; so I gave her a brief overview. So whatever she did, it is not on me, ok? So don’t blame me for it.” Hope snaps. “And I don’t think you’re even mad at her. I think that you maybe do feel a little bit guilty because maybe you have done something that had the board heard about it, it would have made them very suspicious. And thing was me several years ago, which was not your fault. So stop beating yourself up over it. Let. It. Go.”

“Hope, can you just leave for a little while?” Tony rubs his temples.

“Really? That’s what you’re gonna do? Push me away? Is that what you always do? When things get hard, you just push the people you love away? Fine.” She walks out of his office.

Hope storms down to Accounting and walks in Jan’s office. “Are you busy?”

“Not exactly, what’s wrong?” Jan looks worried.

“Can you take a walk off the premises?”

Jan grabs her cardigan and walks out with Hope. Once they leave the property, Jan asks, “What’s wrong?”

“So you, uh, talked to the board about Tony, right?”

“Yea? Was that wrong?”

Hope sniffs. “Well, they apologized to him, and then he asked me later if I had talked to you. Apparently he doesn’t need to depend on you to gain their respect. You were his dad’s favorite person other than Rebecca.”

“That’s not true. Ask Tony about Steve.” Jan remarks quickly.

“And now he kinda blames me, I think. Well he blames himself, but he snapped at me because he doesn’t know how to keep it all inside. I-I think he still blames himself for sleeping with me when at that stupid party. And he shouldn’t. But he won’t talk about it, or anything about himself really. Was he always like this? Because I’m feeling like this is all my fault.” Tears start to form in her eyes. She immediately berates herself for being weak and crying.

“Unfortunately, yes. Tony has always been emotionally closed off. You have to read him and hope that you get his emotion and feelings right. If not, let’s just say, he pushed a lot of people away because they couldn’t read him right.”

“Well, maybe he should blame me…”

“Hope, come on, he should not blame you! It's in the past. There's nothing you can do but work past it. Now go talk to him, ok? And if he wants to yell at anyone about the board, he can come talk to me.”

Hope gives her a hug. “Thank you Jan.”


	36. Chapter 36

As they get back to SI, Hope leaves Jan at Accounting and heads up to Tony’s office. He's still there, working on more specs.

“Hey, “ He says as she walks in. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry at you. It wasn't your fault; I was just channeling my anger in the wrong direction.”

“Tony, we need to have a talk. Not in the ‘I think we should break up’ way. We just need to be completely honest with each other, ok? What if I brought dinner over tonight and we talk?” Hope requests.

“Don't we talk?” Tony finally looks at her, now a little hurt.

“Yes, we do, but it's always about me. We never talk about you, and I think it would be better if I could know you better. Please.”

Tony sighs. “I guess. But I don't know what you don't know about me.”

“Ok. I'll be over around 6. I'll bring pizza.”

Hope arrives to Tony just getting home from work. “I'm sorry,” he says. “I just got caught up asks forgot to check the clock.”

“It’s ok. Let’s just eat. And then we'll talk.”

When the pizza was gone, Tony sits back on his couch. “What do you wanna talk about?”

Hope looks troubled. “Tony, how do you really feel about your relationship with me? Tell me the truth.”

He looks surprised. “Hope, I love you! You’re the greatest thing that's ever happened to me!”

“If that's true, then why do you beat yourself up over that Halloween six years ago? Did you start dating me as a sense of duty because I said about my dad telling me to find Avery’s father? Because you took us out as a result of us finding out about that. So if you're dating me and thinking about marrying me for your moral code, just don't. It's not worth you resenting me for the rest of your life. There will be no hard feelings on my account, ok?”

“Hope… we may have started because of that, but it wasn’t because of my ‘moral code’ or ‘sense of duty’ or whatever. But that was because I didn't want to give the board something to _actually_ complain about. I was kind of interested in you since the first day I met you again. But if you weren't interested, I wasn’t gonna try. I love you, and I want to marry you, and I will never _ever_ resent you! And yes, that night, it wasn’t the smartest thing I ever did, and if I had known your age, I’d be in jail. But we got Avery from that, and I will never wish she wasn’t here. I love her, and I love you. If you don’t want to proceed with this relationship, I fully understand. But I will support you and her with whatever you choose to do. I just have been having a bad day, and I will try to be more open with you. What do you think?”

Hope leans forward and kisses him. “If you’re telling the truth, and I would like to believe you are, I think we should move forward together.”

He kisses her again, smiling. “Hallelujah! I don’t know what I’d do if you said otherwise. I am completely enamored by you.”

“Aw, you’re taking those Jane Austen books to heart now, that’s great! But I would prefer you to be Mr. Knightley, who actually communicates with Emma, although usually to point out her flaws, but still lets his feelings be known instead of Mr. Darcy, who acts high and mighty, then shocks Elizabeth with his declarations of ardent love, ya feel me?”

“Yea… I get the drift, even if I have no idea who you’re talking about.” He responds laughingly.

“And here I thought you were paying attention when we watched those movies.” Hope rolls her eyes. “I paid attention to _Die Hard_.”

“Yea because it was interesting.”

“So was _Pride and Prejudice._ ”

“If you say so.” They sit there quietly for a few minutes until he turns to her. “Do you want to dance?” She nods. “J, will you queue up a waltz?”


	37. Chapter 37

A few months went past, and Tony took Hope on several big dates, fancy restaurants and the works. She had assumed he would propose to her one of those nights, but he never did. On the night of Avery’s birthday, after they sang to her, she said, “I made a wish. I want Momma and Daddy to get married.”

“You’re not supposed to say it out loud!” Abby admonished.

“Actually…” Tony steps forward. “I think that it could be arranged.” He gets down on his knee. “Hope Sanford, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you and Avery. Will you make me the happiest man on Earth by accepting my offer of marriage?”

Hope feels her legs stop working. She falls to her knees in tears. “Of course I will!”

“Oh my gosh!!!!!!” Jan starts jumping up and down, her camera clicking away. “I am soooooo happy for you!!”

Avery jumps up and pulls her parents into a hug, cake forgotten. “This is the _best_ birthday **_ever_**!!”

Now, ten months later, they are happily married.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I am TERRIBLE at endings.


End file.
